We're Brothers, Right?
by KatNepShipper
Summary: Bro's life is thrown into a tailspin as he somehow acquires a seven month old baby. Bro/Dave brother fluff. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1

In a room in an apartment in a complex in Austin, Texas lived a 19 year old, well built man known to others simply as Bro Strider. He had a name, but no one ever knew it. He worked mainly, as far as everyone knew, as an incredibly sought-after DJ working odd jobs at various night clubs.  
Very good. Very highly recommended. Very loud, according to his neighbors. Strangers never really went to his apartment. The new girl who moved in across the hall went to ask for a hammer one time. When he opened the door with his usual pointed glasses and stoic expression his apartment was filled with creepy, colorful,  
large-rumped puppets. Everywhere. She left without a word and got a hammer elsewhere.

Of course, this is just what his neighbors thought of him. In reality, he's a perfectly nice person. His best childhood friend could attest to that. His friend is a couple years older than him, married, and recently had a child. For this reason Bro sarcastically calls him Dad, or, because of his job as a successful business man, Mr Egbert.

Bro lived alone for two years. Then, somehow, he didn't. Because of the baby. Not his baby, of course. It was one of the weirdest experiences of his life. A young woman had run up, forced a baby into his arms, and run off. He called the police and they looked some stuff up, but although they identified the mother, they couldn't find her anywhere. The police said she must have left the state or something. So they asked Bro whether he wanted to keep him or put him up for adoption. The adoption centers were closed for the night, and the next day was Independence Day, so if he wanted to think about it, he's welcome to take him home. If not, one of the officers would be happy to keep him until the adoption centers opened. Bro agreed to keep him at least until Wednesday morning, so they gave him some formula, food, diapers, and advice, and sent him on his way.

There was no crib in his apartment, of course. Instead, he made up a bed in her sock drawer. Bro had never had a baby before. He didn't sleep all night for worry, and then when he finally started drifting off around 3 AM, the baby started to cry. Bro spent about 10 minutes trying to soothe him before deciding he might be hungry. He heated the formula to the suggested temperature and let out a sigh of relief when the baby was finally quiet. However, a few minutes later he started crying. A hasty internet check revealed that Bro had forgotten to burp him. To his dismay, he didn't read about the spit up. Now it was all down his back.

Bro put the baby back in the sock drawer and took a hasty shower before slinking off to bed, exhausted. He managed to sleep until 10 before the baby started crying again. This time there was an unpleasant smell coming from him-a dirty diaper. Bro had seen much worse in some of the clubs he's worked at. He felt like he was well prepared for this. He undid the diaper and gagged. This was so much worse. How did something so small hold that much.

Bro picked up the phone. He had no choice. He had to call Mr. Egbert for advice. He has a son of his own, he must have a few tips. The phone was answered by his wife, Juliet. He asked for her husband and waited patiently for him to come to the phone.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Bro, what's going on? You haven't ca-"

"I have a baby."

"WHAT?" There was some frantic whispering on the other end until Juliet came back on.

"Who's baby is it?" she asked.

"I dunno This lady I had never seen before came up to me…" and he explained the whole story. "And now he's in desperate need of a diaper change," he ended, forcing himself to sound calm.

"Oh, I see. Well...Number one or number two?"

"Uh...Three, I think."

"Okay. Well, let's get down to business." And she walked him through the whole process. As Bro finished up and put the baby back in the drawer, Juliet asked, "So, are you going to keep him?"

"I don't know yet. I get until tomorrow morning to decide."

"Well, call us when you do, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Juliet. Bye."

"Take care."

* * *

**Hey, guys, I'm Rachel!**

**The first two chapters are going to be a bit short, sorry. They're mostly there for set up. I'll be trying to update once a week, but don't get your hopes up... Finals are coming up so I might not be able to post quite as often as I would like. Once a month for sure, though. **


	2. Chapter 2

Bro had never liked Independence Day. He lived in Texas, and people are too patriotic there. Even his flash stepping couldn't get him safely through the crowds. He was good, but this was Texas. It's a whole different creature on July 4. Which is why he decided to just stay home with the kid today. Any other day he would have taken him out for a bit but today… He didn't want to risk it. There were still dangers in the complex, though. The people down the hall usually had relatives over, and they were quite rowdy. No one else dared to mess with Bro, but these relatives always targeted him when they visited. He just hoped they wouldn't do anything too bad this year.

A baby in the house wouldn't stop his annual watching of Independence Day on the day itself. He put the kid on the couch, the DVD in the player, and they relocated the baby to his lap. The baby seemed to like it. He watched intently and giggled when Will Smith punched the alien in the face. Just as the movie ended, and unnoticed by Bro, a firecracker, sent by the neighbor's relatives, rolled under the door. It went off with a bang and set one of Bro's smuppets ablaze. The baby started to cry in distress. Bro rushed to smother the smuppet and then picked him up and started to bounce him up and down to soothe him. He opened the door to tell off whoever had sent that firecracker and, to his surprise, saw all of his neighbors looking out their doors in shock.

"Bro?" said the girl across the hall. "Where did you get that baby?" She looked wary. A murmur ran down the hall as people speculated where the baby came from. Perhaps he was the product of a one night stand. Maybe Bro had stolen him.

Bro's glare couldn't be seen from behind his dark glasses, but they could all feel it. Everyone went completely silent as they watched him bounce the now quiet baby. "This baby was found in an alley," Bro said. "Adoption centers are closed for the holiday, so I volunteered to take care of him until tomorrow." He turned his flat gaze on the neighbor's brother, who shrank back. "If you ever put a firecracker in my apartment again…" He left the end hanging, but the brother got the idea.

The neighbors watched in silence as Bro turned around and walked back into his apartment. "Sorry about that, lil' guy. They can be a bit judgmental, but you'll eventually get…" He trailed off. What was he doing? He was talking as if he were going to keep him. He's just not cut out for child care. Tomorrow morning, he'll go down to the station and they can put him with someone who was any kind of prepared.

It was starting to get dark. The fireworks would be starting soon. Bro grabbed his folding chair and the baby and went to the roof. He sat the kid on his lap just as the first firework exploded across the sky. They sat and watched the fireworks quietly until the grand finale. As a huge barrage lit their faces, the baby looked up, pointed at Bro, and said, "Bo!"

Bro looked down at his smiling face. "Bo," he said, again.

_This kid is alright,_ Bro thought. Maybe he would keep him.

* * *

**Wow, this one is wayy shorter than I thought. Chapter 3 will definitely be longer, I promise. **

**Also, in chapter 3 they'll finally be naming Dave, so I can stop calling him "The Baby" all the time. It'll be so much easier that way, for sure. I'll see if I can get it up by next Monday, the Monday after that definitely. **


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Bro took the baby down to the adoption center, where one of the officers from the other day was waiting for him. He asked him what his decision was. Bro told him he'd like to keep him. "Are you sure?" asked the officer and the adoption agent over and over again. "A baby is a huge commitment." Bro told them each time that he was. He spend the next 45 minutes filling out paperwork. When he got to the line that asked for the child's name, he hesitated.

"Do you have a name for him?" the agent asked. "If not, we have a few books you could look through."

"No, it's fine," said bro. "I have a name." He had spent an hour last night researching names. He lowered the pen to the paper and wrote STRIDER, DAVE in the blank. When the paperwork was done, Bro payed the center and they left. The center had given him a stroller and a car seat, but he had to buy everything else. The drove down to the Babies-R-Us. For obvious reasons, Dave couldn't keep sleeping in the sock drawer, so they had to get a crib. They also needed a high chair, some toys, food, and diapers, which Bro had changed that morning without any difficulty.

When they got back to the apartment, Bro got stares from his neighbors as he walked down the hall, laden with supplies. They had all expected him to give him up for adoption. Bro reached hsi apartment, put down the bags and Dave, and called Mr. Egbert. This time it was him who answered, and the first thing he said was, "Did you keep him"

"Yeah, I did."

Bro heard Juliet shout "YES!" in the background as Mr. Egbert said, "We'll be down in just a minute." He hung up.

Bro had just finished hauling the crib's box into his room when there was a knock at the door. He opened it to see the Egberts standing in the hall, beaming at him and holding John, their 3 month old child. He ushered them inside. Mr. Egbert reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny pair of pointed shades, just like Bro's own constant accessory. "For your new son," he said, handing them to Bro.

"Son?" Bro said, "Oh, hell no. I'm too young for a son. No, Dave is more of a little brother." He put the glasses on Dave and he giggled. They fit perfectly. Juliet walked into Dave's room.

"What's this?" she said, "You haven't even got his crib unpacked?" She picked up an alan wrench from the ground and said, "We can help with that."

"No, it's fine, I can do it. You don't have to-"

"Nonsense. We're here and we've done it before. We already know how."

It was too late to protest. Juliet had already dragged the box out of his bedroom and started opening it. Mr. Egbert pulled out the instructions and started reading. Bro shrugged and picked up a few pieces. Due to the Egberts' experience, they managed to get it set up in 15 minutes while the two babies played with some of the smuppets laying around.

Bro started unpacking the rest of the bags. Mr. Egbert peered curiously into one and pulled out a small plastic Katana. "Um, Bro? Why did you buy your baby a sword?"

Juliet sighed. "Please tell me you're not going to raise him as a warrior or whatever it is you call it."

"What's so bad about raising my lil' bro to be a bad ass?" He picked Dave up off the couch and handed him the tiny plastic blade. "I think it'll be good for him to learn to be tough." The Egberts sighed. Mr. Egbert bent down next to John and gave him a little stuffed clown doll.

"I think it's better to raise a child with tender love." He made the clown dance in front of John, who giggled. "Kids are little and fragile, and they need our protection. We're here to keep them safe, and nurture them gently to their full potential."

It was quiet for a moment as Mr. Egbert's words hung in the air. "Well that's a load of bull shit."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Egbert asked."

"I feel like if you coddle the kid, he won't be as capable when he grows up."

"I guess if you do it wrong."

Bro shrugged. "Just be careful you don't try too hard."

"Same to you. Don't be too tough on him." Mr. Egbert picked John up. John started chewing on the stuffed clown. Bro looked at the clock. it was almost six o'clock. He invited the Egberts to stay for dinner.

"And by dinner, I mean I'm probably going to order Chinese," he added. They agreed, and he called in an order. While they were waiting they set up the high chair. When the doorbell rang, Bro went to collect the food and pay the delivery man, Juliet put Dave in the high chair and John on the table in front of her, and Mr. Egbert got out plates and baby food.

They set the food out on the table and started dishing it out. Bro opened the jar of baby food. He then realized he had never actually fed Dave baby food before. Yesterday he had only used formula, which, now that he thought about it, probably wasn't good enough for a seven-month old child. He scooped a bit of food out of the jar and tried to give it to Dave. The baby closed his mouth and avoided the spoon as if his tiny little life depended on it. The food smeared on his cheek and fell onto the tray of the high chair. Bro looked at him for a second and said, "Seriously, kid?"

He tried again. This time moving slowly and carefully. When he reached the closed lips he prodded them a little. The mouth remained solidly shut. Juliet looked up from her baby and saw Bro's difficulties. She poked her husband who had a forkful of food on the way to his mouth and whispered something in his ear. Mr. Egbert looked over at Bro and nodded. He leaned over and tapped Bro on the shoulder.

"Need some help?" Bro shook his head, but he took the jar and the spoon anyways. "Watch carefully." Mr. Egbert first wiped the food off of Dave's face, and then proceeded to teach Bro how exactly to feed a fussy baby. He then handed the food back to Bro and watched as he did the same. Mr. Egbert nodded as Bro managed to get the food into Dave's mouth instead of his face.

When the bottle was empty, Bro finally got to eat his own food. The Egberts were pretty much done by this point, so they offered to clean up a bit while he ate. Bro agreed, and they started clearing up the empty take-out boxes and putting the leftovers in the fridge. When everything was cleared up, the Egberts sat on the couch and Bro and Dave sat on the chair opposite them.

"So, Bro, taking care of a baby is a huge commitment, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I already figured that out."

"You can't exactly go out DJing every night. And a day job wouldn't work out either."

"Yeah, which is why I just won't work."

"Huh?"

"I have plenty of money put away. I can manage just fine until he's chill to stay home alone for a night."

"Are you sure you have that much money?"

"Yeah. My DJing gets me good money. Even when Dave is stayin' home alone I'll go out like, once a week."

"That plan doesn't seem… completely air tight. What if you don't get a gig? What if it doesn't pay as much as you need?"

"I think you're underestimating demand for me. A little hiatus will actually help me get a gig. if I'm gone, people will want me more, so when I come back, everyone will want me and they'll play high for me. Once a week will be plenty."

"That seems a little conceited, don't you think?"

Bro shrugged. "That's just how things work. If it's to my benefit, I'll manipulate it. Anyone else would, and it doesn't hurt anyone."

They were quiet for a moment. Then, John started to cry. Mr. Egbert looked at his watch. "Shit," he muttered. "John's betdime was half an hour ago. We better head home. You sure you can manage on your own tonight?"

Bro waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. You guys go home. Babies need to sleep." Mr. Egbert tossed the keys to Juliet and picked up John. They said their goodbyes and left. Bro turned to Dave who was now starting to get a bit cranky and said, "Just the two of us again. How about a little party?" Dave started to cry a little."Yeah, not tonight." He put Dave in his crib. He continued to cry. Bro sighed a little and picked him back up. "Come on, lil' guy. What do you want from me?" He remembered when he had visited the Egberts when John was first born, and Juliet had sung to him. "Oh hell no, I'm not singing to you." He thought for a minute, sat down on the couch, and began to rap quietly.

Dave's crying was getting softer. As Bro finished his rap, he looked down at the now sleeping baby. He put him gently down in the crib and went to bed himself. Yeah, he could make this work.

* * *

**Wow, sorry it took so long to get this up! I made sure to make this chapter longer than the other two. I'm starting to get a little bit of a plan as to where this story is heading, so I might be able to get the next chapter up sooner. **


End file.
